Occult Detective Magazine #7

by Colin Fisher, John Linwood Grant, Jonathan Raab

Once again Occult Detective Magazine explores the strange worlds of the occult detective, the psychic investigator and the doomed meddler, in this packed new compendium ranging from stories of pre-Conquest Central America and contemporary Japan to the States, period London, and even a Scottish computing centre. Where there is something dark, and a mystery beckons, the occult detective follows. Great tales from veteran writers and new talents alike, plus the usual articles and reviews. Authors this issue include… Brandon Barrows, Matthew M Bartlett, Debra Blundell, Colin Fisher, Julie Frost, Nancy A Hansen, Aidan Hayes, Paul StJohn Mackintosh, Jonathan Raab, DJ Tyrer, Aaron Vlek and Tanya Warnakulasuriya. With non-fiction by Dave Brzeski, Bobby Derie and Steven Philip Jones, plus art by Sebastian Cabrol, Mutartis Boswell, Luke Spooner, Bob Freeman, Autumn Barlow and Russell Smeaton.Issues 1-5 of Occult Detective Magazine were published by Ulthar Press as Occult Detective Quarterly.

247 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2020

About the author

I live (and write) with my wife and two cats on the outskirts of London, just where the stuffy utilitarianism of suburbia gives way to the fields and furrows of Kent. In my day job I commute across the Thames into the heart of the old Roman city, where, despite the best efforts of traffic and the soulless towers of glass and steel, the ghosts of its old tenants can still be felt in its narrow corridors and winding lanes. In my free time I write.

I have always been fascinated by the countryside, by its moods and movements, its folklore, myths and legends, and by the way successive generations have shaped and moulded the landscape, embedding their own tales and stories in its fabric. My academic background is in archaeology, and my inclination leans toward the deep past and how it continues to impact the present, both physically and psychologically.

I’ve written constantly since childhood – it didn’t always matter what I was writing, as long as it involved words used in interesting ways. I started with stories, then poetry, through non-fiction and then full circle back to fiction. I’ve had both fiction and poetry published by a variety of publishers – you can read extracts on my website), and also sign up to a newsletter that will keep you updated on others forthcoming or in progress. I write in a variety of genres – supernatural and horror, folklore, fantasy and fairy tale – but always with a sense of dislocation, of something unacknowledged but not unfelt. You’ll also get a sense of what I enjoy from my blog and from reviews published on my website.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good issue of Occult Detective Magazine. Most of the stories are pretty good, but there were one or two clunkers as well. The reviews were very interesting. I felt like the history was a bit light, but I also know there are those who live for that sort of thing.

all in all, well worth reading.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his editorial/introduction to the issue co-editor John Linwood Grant lays out the zine’s original vision: “…to explore this sub-genre with open minds and open hearts. Nothing—as long as it had both a supernatural, strange or weird element and an investigative one—as necessarily out of bounds.”

It helps to review the ground rules and set expectations for a magazine titled “Occult Detective.” There are several tales that fit Grant’s wider definition of the zine’s mission and give its editors a wider net from which to select stories. This edition is another strong entry in the series. My favorite tales were those by D. J. Tyrer, Nancy A. Hansen, and Brandon Barrows. The fiction is supported by articles on Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt, Conan and Carnacki, Grimm: Ghost Spotter from Golden Age Comics, and reviews of occult detective novels and comics. If you like this sub-genre, ODM will provide several sessions of great entertainment.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. I had hoped for more supernatural and less vaguely occult. The final story was well written but the topic was kind of sordid and seemed more a long build up to a joke rather than a tale. I was looking for more like Carnacki, the Ghost Finder stories but this did not deliver. They had too much a winking "we don't really believe in any of this" modern approach.